


eat, drink, and be merry

by basta_wwoqd



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: 12 days of prompts, Christmas Fluff, Darcy Lewis-centric, Drabble Collection, F/M, Gen, Mistletoe, More Ships to come, Secret Santa, Snow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-06 14:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5420969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/basta_wwoqd/pseuds/basta_wwoqd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who know hot chocolate could bring people together? Darcy Lewis did. </p><p>Christmas drabble collection...<br/>1. Bucky & Darcy/ hot chocolate<br/>2. Steve & Darcy/ falling snow<br/>3. Steve & Darcy/ Santa Claus<br/>4. Steve & Darcy & Bucky/ Cookies<br/>5. Sam & Natasha/ Mistletoe<br/>6. Darcy & the Avengers/ Christmas Movies<br/>7. Steve & Darcy/ Secret Santa part one<br/>8. Steve & Darcy/ Secret Santa part two</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. darcy & bucky/hot chocolate

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5313704) by [PinkPandorafrog](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkPandorafrog/pseuds/PinkPandorafrog). 



> I was inspired by the wonderful Pinkpandorafrog's holiday prompts and her collection of drabbles 'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year'. I would forgive you completely if you left me to go read them now! 
> 
> This is my first foray into the MCU. I've been lurking for the longest time and I think I'm ready to dip my toes into it. I do not own any of these characters, movies, etc. All I own is a Peggy Carter and Black Widow Funko Pop.

Darcy carefully watched the saucepan, her hands on her hips. 

“Whatcha doing, doll?” Bucky asked from the doorway. He had spent the last five minutes watching her flit around the kitchen humming Christmas carols under her breath. 

She startled and spun around to face him, a deep flush creeping down her neck, “Don’t distract me! Grandma Lewis’s hot chocolate recipe is very delicate. One wrong move and we will be drinking burnt milk.”

He throw up his hands in surrender, “Everyone is getting restless. Tony just pulled a handful of papers with his name written on them to throw in the Secret Santa ring.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “I learned many a lessons from last year’s shenanigans and one of them was to never let Tony take control of any Christmas activities.”

“I’m sorry to have missed that,” he told her. He washed his hands and started placing mini marshmallows at the bottom of the Santa mugs. 

“I still have nightmares. Thank Thor for Pepper because no one needs to see Tony Stark buck ass naked holding mistletoe over you know…” she shuddered as she whisked the chunks of milk and dark chocolate into the pan. She raised her eyebrow as he dropped the final few marshmallows in Darcy’s giant elf mug. 

Shrugging, he looked her in the eye, “You’ve made me Grandma Lewis’s hot chocolate too many times to count back when I first came in…”

She bit her lip, “I’m a firm believer that hot chocolate cures all.”

“Not many people would have done that for me,” Bucky mumbled. Darcy pulled the saucepan off the burner and stepped into Bucky’s line of sight. She gently pushed his chin upwards until she was staring up into his eyes. 

“That’s their loss,” she told him honestly. Bucky dipped his head and met his lips with hers. She parted her mouth ever so slightly as an invitation and Bucky responded in kind. His tongue danced inside her mouth, he channeled the suave Bucky Barnes he once was. 

“Buck, Darce, everyone is getting anxious and I think if Clint and Tony have to listen to Thor lament about--,” Steve stopped in his tracks as Darcy hid her face in Bucky’s shirt.  
“Well. I was hoping you two fools would wait until Christmas…I guess you should never bet against Natasha.”

“Punk.” Bucky growled from his spot against the counter. Darcy giggled into his chest. 

“I can buy you two more minutes, but after that it is all on you guys.” Steve warned them before leaving the kitchen. 

Darcy peeked from under Bucky’s arm before pulling back from Bucky’s embrace. “I can’t believe Steve caught us making out. We will never live this down, mind you.” 

Bucky grinned, “I don’t care…Darcy Lewis would you do me the pleasure of going out with me tomorrow evening?” 

Darcy laughed and threw a marshmallow at his face. “Duh.”


	2. steve & darcy/ falling snow

“It’s just not right,” Darcy whined from her seat in the Avengers common room. “I spent MONTHS in the desert with you and I move to New York City in November expecting to blown away by the sheer amount of snow New Yorkers are always complaining about but here we are…a week away from Christmas and still snowless.” 

Jane mumbled her agreement not taking her eyes away from her Stark tablet. 

“What’s the point of having that big ass Christmas tree in the middle of city if it is not going to be covered in snow?” Darcy rambled on. The only reason they were sitting in the common room was because Tony tried to create a fireproof Santa suit and almost burned down half the Science! Floor in the process. “I want more ‘White Christmas’ and less ‘Blue Christmas’.” 

The sound of the elevator interrupted the rest of Darcy’s spiel. Steve greeted them both with a raised eyebrow, “Dr. Foster, Miss Lewis, done for the day?”

Jane looked up from her data for a second before responding, “Tony tried to kill us all again.”

Darcy huffed, “Tony went on a Science! bender that ended with Dummy forgetting how to use a fire extinguisher.” 

Steve shook his head and laughed, “So just your average day in labs.”

“Yup.” Darcy emphasized the ‘p’. She tore her eyes away from Captain America’s biceps and scowled out the window again. “Hey Jane, do you think Thor knows anyone who can control snow?”

“I wouldn’t be shocked,” Steve answered drily as he raided the kitchen fridge. Darcy pushed herself up from the couch and joined Steve in the fridge. She wordlessly offered him a cup of coffee and turned her nose up when he pulled out a protein shake. “You know, back in my day…”

“You walked five miles to school in a blizzard only to be turned away by the nuns?” Darcy responded innocently. 

“Between my asthma and possibly catching the pneumonia, I would have died first,” Steve told her solemnly. For the first time in a while, Darcy was at a loss for words. The next minute continued on in an awkward silence before Steve threw his head back and laughed heartily. 

Darcy sputtered, “You are such a troll. I can’t believe you. If only America knew about this side of you.”

“The look on your face,” Steve wiped at his eyes. “What I was going to say before I was interrupted, was that Christmas time in New York City after the first snowfall is magical. Just you wait, Darcy Lewis.”

_One Week Later- Christmas Eve_

Darcy tugged the blanket around her tighter, she wanted to enjoy a few more moments of the quiet, peacefulness snow brought to her city. The balcony doors clicked open as a sleep rumpled Steve appeared in pajamas and slippers. “Magic, right?” he whispered. He draped an arm over Darcy’s shoulder and pulled her close.

She grinned up at him, “It was worth the wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the wonderful comments. Hopefully, I'll keep up with posting a drabble a day.


	3. steve & darcy/ santa claus

Steve Rogers stared at the hat dumbly, “What?”

Darcy peeked out from behind the curtain, separating the two of them from the rest of the party. “Come on, Steve. I’m desperate! The Santa we hired drank too much of the fancy champagne and is currently passed out in the men’s bathroom.”

“You want me to dress up as Santa Claus?” Steve asked. He looked around desperately for an escape. 

Darcy tapped her stiletto impatiently, “Yes. Hey, at least it isn’t as bad as your first Captain America getup. I’ve seen the pictures.”

“Why not ask Clint or Thor?” Steve suggested eyeing the rest of the velvety costume. It even included suspenders. The chatter of excited children grew louder from behind the curtain. 

“I could barely get Clint to leave the vents and as for Thor, I mean, he has the whole jolly thing down but I don’t think he’s ready to take on this aspect of our culture,” she explained. She checked her phone for the time before continuing. “Just last week, I had to convince him that the elves we saw at Rockefeller Center were not otherworldly…Look, there’s a group of underprivileged kids out there waiting to share with Santa what they want for Christmas.”

Steve hung his head and accepted defeat, “You just had to play the kids card.”

Darcy winked at him, “Sometimes a gal has to fight dirty to get what she wants, Steve. Now, everything is laid out for you and I’ll be by your side the entire night.”

Steve took a minute to soak in Darcy’s appearance. His eyes trailed down to where her sparkling red dress met the floor, “Miss Lewis, you don’t look much like Santa’s little helper to me.” 

Darcy bit her lip and stared up at him innocently, “Maybe I felt like being on the naughty list this year.”

“I don’t think I need to check it twice,” Steve replied. He had been trying to catch Darcy’s eye for the past few months. Who knew all it would take was a Santa suit. “Maybe later you can tell me what you want for Christmas and I’ll put in a good word for you.” 

Not one to back down from a challenge, Darcy let out a throaty laugh, “Does this mean I get to sit on your lap?”

Steve’s eyes twinkled, “I think that can be arranged.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it, Santa,” Darcy told him before leaving him to get changed. Yes. She would definitely be looking forward to later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who could deny Steve Rogers in a Santa costume? NO ONE.


	4. steve & darcy & bucky/ cookies

Steve and Bucky hauled the rest of the groceries into their Avengers Tower apartment, if they weren’t serum enhanced super soldiers they would be lying on the ground begging for mercy. The smell of cloves and molasses emanated from the kitchen. Bucky leaned against the doorway of the kitchen, “Alright, doll. We’ve acquired enough butter and flour to make our mother’s weep.”

Darcy pointed a spatula at him, “I distinctly recall someone in this room volunteering to pick up the rest of my baking essentials. Now, did you get the super special ingredient that will make or break our Christmas baking?”

Steve brushed past Bucky with a bag of candies in one hand and a five pound bag of flour resting over his shoulder, “It was touch and go there for a moment but the super special ingredient is in our possession.”

Darcy squealed and gave Steve a smacking kiss on the lips, “My hero. Gingerbread cookies are nothing without red hots. Trust me.”

“Hey!” Bucky protested, plucking the candies out of Steve’s hands. “This big lug over here almost gave up the candies to some angry soccer mom. I had to pull out my scariest glare to get her to back down.”

Darcy folded her arms and leveled Steve with the same glare. “I take it back. Bucky has saved Christmas.” She leaned over Steve and paid Bucky in kind for his antics.

Steve threw up his arms, “In my defense, she had a very heavy purse.”

“One of your patented ‘aw shucks, ma’am’ and she would have been putty in your hands,” Bucky argued. He plucked a piece of gingerbread dough out of the bowl and popped it into his mouth. 

“If you are going to be putting your hands in my dough, you better be in charge of rolling,” she told him after swatting his hand away. “FRIDAY, will you please start up my Christmas baking playlist.”

“Yes, Miss Lewis,” FRIDAY responded immediately. The first strands of the ‘It’s Beginning to Look A lot like Christmas’ filled the apartment. 

“Alright, soldiers. Darcy’s Incredible Christmas Bake-a-Thon starts now,” she announced from her position by the oven. She pointed to the marble cutting board and the rolling pin, “Barnes, you are in charge of rolling out the first batch of gingerbread. Rogers, you are on red hots duty. I’ll put all this butter to use and get started on the sugar cookie dough.”

Both Steve and Bucky motioned a salute to Darcy and went to task. After approximately seven hours, Darcy and the boys baked over three hundred cookies for donation and another two hundred for the rest of the Avengers. The three of them fell on the couch in an exhausted heap. Bucky examined his metal arm in disbelief, “This arm has shielded me from bullets and I think you’ve broken it, Darcy.”

Darcy snorted, “How was I supposed to know that a little cookie baking would cause the motor or whatever to slow down. I’m a little disappointed in the technology, frankly.” 

Steve looked at the two with a mischievous glint in his eye, “You know, I think Darcy and I might be able to kiss it better.”


	5. sam & natasha/ mistletoe

Sam sniffed the glass Tony handed off to him minutes before Pepper arrived to the Avengers Holiday Party. You never know with Tony Stark. He’s made a damn fool of himself too many times to count because of him. He still hasn’t forgiven Tony for the time he painted the inside of his wings red and gold. 

“I would not drink that if I were you,” Natasha warned him with a sly grin. She saddled up to Sam’s side in an instant. 

Sam startled at the appearance of the spy, almost spilling the contents of the glass on his suit. “Damn. I’m getting you a bell to wear around me for Christmas. What did Tony do this time?”

She raised one, delicate eyebrow, as if the idea of her wearing anything that would give away her presence was preposterous and somewhat amusing. She sipped on her martini before continuing, “It’s laced with some of Thor’s Asgardian Mead. Thor gave it to Clint who still won’t drink it after I caught him trying to bathe himself in the kitchen sink after the last time he challenged Thor to a drink off.   
Clint begged it off on Darcy and then she shoved it into the hands of Tony. He hates being handed things.”

“I’m wounded that Thor didn’t think of me first!” he exclaimed with a hand over his heart. He glared at a cackling Tony from across the room and set the drink on a nearby table. “You know, I love living in this Tower rent free and with access to more food than two super soldiers can eat but Stark is one crazy asshole.” 

“Trying being his personal assistant for a month,” Natasha responded drily. She plucked a hors d'oeuvres off a tray from a passing waiter and popped it into her mouth in one fluid motion. “In all honesty, Stark has the social skills of a toddler and does not know how to make friends.” 

Sam shrugged, “Well, he did not have to hurt my wings in the process.” 

Natasha turned sharply, her eyes zeroing in on Clint who was standing behind her and Sam, “Barton, did you need something?”

“Tony gave me my Secret Santa present early and told me to use it wisely,” he replied with a shit-eating grin on his face. Sam suppressed a groan knowing nothing good could come from what was going to happen next. Clint swiped a stick from his back pocket and hung it over Sam and Natasha.

“Seriously, man? You got Tony as your Secret Santa and he gifted you a stick with mistletoe hanging from it?” Sam asked incredulously. In the background, a camera flash went off. Natasha snorted at Clint’s hurt face. 

“What?” the archer demanded to know. 

“Barton, Sam and I have been kissing behind everyone’s backs for two months now,” Natasha told him before Sam grasped her waist, dipped her backwards, and placed a noisy kiss on her mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written Natasha and Sam before :| so hopefully it didn't ruin anyone's shipper dreams! Obviously not Ultron compliant (as if that needed to be said) because ugh.


	6. the avengers/ christmas movie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any of the Christmas movies mentioned below!

“You are telling me that the only Christmas movies Steve has seen is Die Hard and Bad Santa,” Darcy exclaimed. She clutched her chest as if she was on the verge of a heart attack. 

“Those are two classic Christmas movies,” Clint chimed in from across the movie room. He was sprinkling an unhealthy amount of powdered cheddar on his popcorn. 

“I feel like we gave the Cap a very well rounded view on how modern society views Christmas,” Tony pointed out. Tony sprawled out on one of the love-seats in the middle of the room. So far the Avengers team bonding session was off to a terrible start. Thor had yet to pull Jane from the labs and Bruce needed to meditate beforehand or the Christmas movie marathon would get real green and Darcy wasn’t talking about the Grinch. 

“Although it was nontraditional, I think Clint and Tony were sincere in their attempt to acclimate me to the 21st century,” Steve pointed out, diplomatically. Darcy huffed loudly. “But an alcoholic Santa and a terrorist plot on Christmas Eve…”

“Exactly,” cried Darcy. She loomed over Tony and poked him where his arc reactor used to be. “You have failed our Captain. Let’s be honest, people only claim that Die Hard is a Christmas movie in a weird, ironic way. You aren’t funny.”

“I did not know you felt so passionately on this subject,” Natasha remarked from her catlike perch on the end of the couch. 

Darcy threw up her hands, “Someone obviously should! We are reeducating Steve on the meaning of Christmas movies.”

Thor clapped his hands from the doorway, a look of pure excitement lit up his face. “Dearest Darcy, please tell us that we are viewing the movie about the brave warrior Kevin and his battle to defend his home front. It is truly a delightful tale about a young hero.”

Tony chortled, “That was by far the greatest description of Home Alone I’ve ever heard. I’m hacking IMDB now and changing the plot summary.”

Thor paid no attention to Tony as he led Jane to the love-seat closest to the flat screen television. Natasha nodded. “Home Alone is an American classic, even I know that.”

Steve pulled his little notebook from the front pocket of his shirt and flipped through it quickly. He spoke up after a moment of silence, “I knew the name sounded familiar. Sam told me to watch it months ago. Admittedly, I thought he was playing a prank on me. Darcy?”

Darcy fell on the couch next to her boyfriend. After munching on a handful of red and green M&M’s, she turned towards Stark, “If there are no complaints from the John McClane fan club, I think Home Alone is a great choice. Then Steve can point out how much more New York has changed when we watch the sequel.”

“There’s a sequel?” Steve questioned. “How can a kid be left alone again?”

“Hell yeah. Obviously, it is not as great as the first one but is still worthy of our Christmas movie marathon,” Darcy explained. She clapped her hands, giddy with excitement. “FRIDAY, please queue up the first Home Alone movie.”

Bruce shuffled in with a mug of tea in hand, “What’d I miss?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something a little different for your reading pleasure this evening!


	7. steve & darcy/ secret santa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not posting last night! Apparently, drinking 3/4 a bottle of champagne is not conducive to the writing experience. Please enjoy the first part of this ficlet!

After last year’s disastrous Secret Santa, Darcy had been all too willing to take over Secret Santa: the Avengers Edition. On the first week of December, she gathered all the Avengers and their significant others/friends. Darcy waved the Santa hat in the center of the group. She spoke slowly for effect, while maintaining eye contact with Tony, “Everyone picks a name from the hat and is responsible for their gift. Remember, the limit is $100. No buts, Tony! Under no circumstances should you trade if you don’t like the person you’ve picked, Clint.”

Natasha volunteered to go first. After pulling out her piece of paper, her smile took on the appearance of the Cheshire cat. “This will be good.”

“Am I the only one afraid?” Clint spoke up before taking his turn. Tony cackled gleefully and Bruce shook his head. Thor accidentally grabbed two pieces of paper that launched several protests from everyone except Jane. 

“Your turn, Darcy.” Steve handed the hat over to her. He slipped his piece of paper into the back pocket of his jeans, the tips of his ears turning a faint red. 

She smiled widely and emptied the final piece of paper into her hands. In her neat handwriting, Steve’s name was printed on the festive cardstock. Oh boy.   
Across the room, Natasha discreetly winked at Pepper. The CEO of Stark Industries nodded her head at Jane. Their plan was in motion.

-

Darcy placed a coffee mug on Jane’s desk with less fanfare than usual. Normally, Darcy would be chattering nonstop about Tower gossip or the television show she is currently binge-watching. Jane would halfheartedly participate in the mostly one-sided conversation. This morning was quiet. “Darcy? Everything okay?” her friend asked, pulling her eyes away from an equation she was trying to finish.

Darcy sighed and flopped onto her desk chair. “I have Steve for Secret Santa.”

“Oooh,” Jane waggled her eyebrows. 

“Whatever you are thinking, stop it right now. It’s just Secret Santa,” she told Jane. Darcy took a long sip of her latte. 

“So if it’s just Secret Santa, why are you all mopey about it?” she retorted. Jane inhaled half of her coffee while waiting on her assistant’s response. 

“And that is why I need to switch you to decaf,” Darcy remarked sarcastically. She spun around in her chair a few times trying to compose her thoughts. “I want to get him something meaningful and not stupid. I’m just having trouble figuring out what I could possibly give to Captain America.”

“You know him better than most of the people in this tower,” Jane pointed out. Even the spacey scientist, knew that Darcy and Steve had an undeniable chemistry. “So I’m sure you know more than anyone what is important to him.” 

Darcy lit up. She hopped up from her desk chair and grabbed her purse, “I’ll be back in an hour, I promise and thank you, Jane!”

Meanwhile, three floors down in the Avengers training room, Steve was having similar thoughts. Natasha blocked a jab he sent her way and landed a sweeping motion that had Steve on his back. “Very sloppy,” she hovered above him. “I’m clearly telegraphing my moves and you have yet to take advantage of that.”

Steve rubbed a hand over his face and took the hand offered to him by Natasha. “I’m sorry, Nat. I guess I’m a little distracted today.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow that says ‘I’ve handed you your ass several times this morning.’ “I can see that.”

“So I pulled Darcy’s name for Secret Santa and I’m struggling to find a gift she deserves, you know?” he admitted. He took a quick drink of his water. “She’s done a lot for me this year and I want to get her something special.” 

Natasha huffed, “You two are hopeless.”

“Sam suggested I serenade her on top of the Empire State building but I think he was kidding,” Steve offered with a wry smile.

“Of course he did,” the corner of Natasha’s lips turned up. “Listen Steve, Darcy will be happy with whatever she receives as long as it shows how you truly feel about her.”

He nodded. Steve could do that…


	8. steve & darcy/ secret santa part two

The Christmas Eve festivities were in full swing when Natasha approached Darcy by the eggnog bar. She watched as Darcy polished off her heavily spiked holiday beverage. The brunette grimaced, “Don’t judge me.”

“No judging here,” Natasha told her. She took a small sip of her own drink and surveyed the crowd. “You should not be so nervous.”

Darcy sighed, “Who doesn’t know?” 

“Steve,” she replied simply. Natasha squeezed her in arm in a rare show of affection. “Boys are clueless and Steve is no exception. Be honest with him, Голубка.”

“What about Secret Santa?” Darcy asked her, looking around nervously. She would not allow Tony to ruin it again this year. 

Natasha waved her off. “I’ll take care of it.”

“I am going to hug you, do not put me in a headlock,” Darcy smiled as Natasha laughed. She wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her tight. “Don’t worry, you’ll always be my favorite Avenger.”

“It’s all I ask.”

Darcy retrieved her present for Steve under the towering Christmas tree. Jane sent her a thumbs-up from her across the common room. She was tucked into Thor’s side sipping on her own eggnog. Darcy chuckled and shook her head. She was a lucky gal. It was now or never. Darcy marched up to where Steve was talking with Sam. “Do you mind if I steal Steve for a bit?” she asked Sam. 

“He’s all yours, Darcy,” Sam backed away. 

Steve smiled at her widely. “Merry Christmas, Darce. I actually have something for you as well. Do you mind if we go somewhere a little quieter?”

She followed Steve to the end of the hallway and stepped onto the elevator that was exclusively for access to the Avengers floors. Steve looked up at the ceiling out of habit, “FRIDAY, can you please take us to 73rd floor.”

“Of course, Captain Rogers,” Tony’s new AI replied. Darcy tucked her arms protectively over Steve’s gift, tapping her heel against the stainless steel floor. 

“Are you okay?” Steve asked concern coloring his voice. Darcy’s quiet and fidgety behavior was unlike her. 

She flashed Steve a smile, “Yeah. For future reference stay away from Clint’s eggnog concoction. So are you going to tell me why you are taking me to the labs?”

“Nope.” He smirked. He motioned for her to exit the elevator first. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

He held the door open to Jane’s lab for her. The entire room was dark except for the light filtering in through the hallway. She looked over her shoulder, “Do you know how likely it is that I’ll trip over some random part to one of Jane’s machines in here?”

Steve chuckled, “Don’t worry. I helped Jane tidy up the place.”

Darcy gasped, “She let you into her sacred lab space and she didn’t kick you out when you asked her to clean up after herself?”

“Well, she tried to at first but then I told her it was for you,” Steve stood nervously in the center of the room. He grasped Darcy’s arm and steadied her in place. “Honestly, I had a lot of trouble finding you a Christmas present, Darcy. Nothing seemed to be good enough for you.”

“Oh, Steve” Darcy whispered. She sat his present against the table next to them.

He moved his hand down her arm until their fingers were entwined. “There really aren’t words to describe how meaningful you are to me and how important you’ve become to me. A few months ago you told me how much you missed seeing the stars from the roof of Jane’s lab in New Mexico. You told me about one of your happiest memories and…”

“It was the night I realized I was right where I belong, helping Jane,” she interrupted. She squeeze his hand a little tighter.

“She helped me put this together.” Steve tapped on a remote and the entire room light up. Thousands of stars illuminated the walls and ceiling of Jane’s lab. Steve guided Darcy to the chairs in the middle of the room where plates with s’mores sat in between them. “She figured out the date and found the exact placement of all of the stars that night.”

Darcy’s eyes started to well up. “I don’t know what to say. This is amazing, Steve. No one has ever done something like this for me.”

“You deserve it all,” he told her. She leaned over the chair and placed her head on his shoulder. “If you’ll give me the chance, I’d like to take you on a date.”

She laughed quietly, “I would love that. I want to give you my gift now.” She led him over to the table and set the wrapped present on it. “Go ahead.”

Steve tugged at the taped ends. He was not prepared for what was inside. “Darcy…Where did you find this?”

“I know you don’t have many pictures of you and Bucky,” Darcy took a deep breath. Steve traced the edges of his missing friend’s face. It was a picture of the two of them after Steve rescued Bucky and the other soldiers from the Red Skull. They were both grinning by a campfire. Steve looked like he was in the midst of telling Bucky a story. “Tony’s father had this in his collection. He left it out of the Smithsonian collection…I guess he hoped that someday you would return and want to keep a few of your moments private.”

Steve rubbed at his eyes. “I can’t thank you enough for this.” 

She hugged him tightly, he pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “Merry Christmas, Steve.”

“Merry Christmas, Darcy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay.

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to hear from you!


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